InkLove
by XxBlackChaosxX
Summary: Set after InkHeart and InkSpell, so obvious spoilers. My version of the next book. Rated T to be safe, but rating might go up.
1. Elinor

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything execpt the idea. Beat it through your head now and I won't have to do if for you later. **

**This is going to be a fanfic mainly based on all my favorite pairings, but I will also try to make it seem like a third installment, but I doubt it'll come out right. Oh well, I'll try! Oh, and it's rated T for a reason, and the rating might go up as the story progresses**

**Chapter 1**

It had been three long years outside the Inkworld, and Elinor had just about enough of her own world. Although Orpheus and Sugar were gone, so were Mo, Resa, and Meggie. They all had left Elinor alone with Darius - although she liked his company - for the Inkworld. The desire to go there was now almost unbearable - Elinor could see now why Dustfinger had decieved them so many times before. Elinor was probably as desperate as he was to go back there. And, try as she might, she couldn't find a reader such as Orpheus or Mo that was willing to help her. And also, the book was missing. It was inside itself. There was no way to get into it from the outside now - not without the book.

Darius was nice company, but his constant kindness was taking a toll on her. He was always jumpy as he usually was, and Elinor found she was beginning to hate him for it.

And that damn dog! It wouldn't leave! No, it was bound here like the words inside a book were bound to its pages. He was unwilling to leave, and no matter what Elinor or Darius tried, it stayed. He was faithfully waiting for Orpheus to 'come out of hiding' and come back to him. "Stupid creature." Elinor mumbled to herself as she sat in her - now least favorite - armchair in her library. She looked down to the dog and just stared at it, trying to get it to go away with her icy stare. But no, the dog seemed to like her more then it did anything else now that Orpheus was gone. Why didn't it understand the fact that its master was never coming back? Dogs were too loyal for their own good.

Elinor found she could no longer stand looking at her books, although Darius had cleaned them all up and put them in their proper spaces. No, she didn't want to even see another book ever again. _Inkheart _and Orpheus alike had drained all her love of books. Now she wanted to throw them all off the walls, trample them herself, and burn them in her backyard as Capricorn's men had done four years ago. She no longer loathed Capricorn's men for doing it, no. Now she wanted to do it herself. But she refrained for Darius. He always said he had wanted a library like hers, and now he had it. He could burn down the god damn house with everything inside for all she cared. She'd just laugh as she watched it burn, anyway.

Elinor found that everytime she got to thinking, everything else around her was gone. It was just like when she was younger. She'd loose herself in her books, and when she read she found she was also thinking. Thinking about anything at all. But it was always something. Usually it never even pretained to the book she was reading. And when she put the book down, her mind refreshed, she found that she knew everything of what she had just read, despite the fact she was only subconsciously reading it.

_No. _Elinor told herself. _You promised you'd never even _think _of another book again, remember, Elinor? _Elinor scowled and stood. There was nothing to do in this godforsaken house without Mo, Meggie, or even the mute Resa. Elinor wondered how happy they were in the Inkworld, then scowled at the thought. _They left me here, _she thought angrilly. _They could've brought me there anytime they wanted, what with the writer Fenoglio there and Mo or Meggie - or hell, even Orpheus - there to lend their voice. Damn them all for forgetting me. _For a moment she stared down at the dog, as if it could answer all her questions, complaints, and problems. But no, the dog just sat there, panting heavilly and looking back up at her. Elinor growled at the dog for the final time before leaving her library.

Elinor wasn't thinking of where she was going, but she found herself looking for Darius. _Why are you doing that, Elinor? _She asked herself. Darius had always given her a little flutter when they were alone, but that wasn't love. _Was it? _A little voice asked her. _Are you sure you aren't falling head over heels for him? _The voice mocked. _No, certainly not. Why should I? Even if he's my age. It doesn't matter. Because I'll never love anyone ever again. _Why? Because the three she had loved, Mo, Meggie, and Resa, had left her. Just like her Mother and Sister. They had left her long ago, leaving her nothing but her Father's books. No, they hadn't loved her either.

Elinor did in fact find Darius in the kitchen. He was a good cook, and an even better reader, although he still kept his talent to himself like a greedy little child with a lollipop. "Oh, hello Elinor." Darius said softly when he turned around and saw her watching him. "Dinner will be done in about an hour."

Elinor sighed, completely ignoring him, and sat down at the kitchen table, watching him as he fiddled around with the food preperations. Without even realizing what she was doing, she answered him and said, "Darius, do you love me?" She still didn't know what she had said until Darius reacted.

"What?" Darius turned around and faced her, although she could see it on his face perfectly well that he had heard her.

"Do you love me?" She wanted a straight answer, and she still didn't think her question meant anything.

"Well...In a sense." He turned around, blushing, and went back to work.

What was so bad about her question? Had she said something offensive? Elinor thought for a long moment, then smacked her forehead. _Good god Elinor, _she scolded herself. _You've lost it. _But even though she knew how she was embarrasing him, something in her urged her to continue the conversation, however embarrasing it was. "What do you mean, 'in a sense'?" Why was she wondering this, anyway? And what inside her forced her to ask the question? Even if he said he was head over heels with her, she wouldn't have wanted his love. She was an alone woman, and didn't need anyone's love. Not anymore.

"I mean," Darius answered, not facing her. Elinor vageuly wondered if his now ruby-red face was only becaue it was hot in the kitchen. "I love you like a Father would a daughter, but not a lover to a lover."

That stung. A Father to a Daughter. She didn't have a Father that had loved her. No, the only thing her Father loved was the books that had been burned...He died with a book in his hands. _Thank God that's not goimg to be the same fate for me. _Elinor reminded herself. Now that she was over books, she wouldn't die over one. No, she'd probably die in the fire she would make to destroy her books. She would've done that long ago, if it hadn't have been for Darius. He was the only reason her house was still standing and Elinor herself wasn't locked in a padded room with a special jacket...

"What is love?" Elinor heard herself ask, in a philosopher kind of tone.

"Love is what people feel for one another. You've never felt it?" Darius turned to face her now. The more time he spent with her, the stronger and stronger he got. His voice no longer stuttered, and he hadn't cleaned his glasses for a whole hour.

"Well, everyone I've ever loved abandoned me. My Mother and Sister, Mo, Meggie, Resa..." Her voice drifted off to prove her point.

Darius sat down beside her on the table, studying her intensely. He was no longer stick-like a frail, no. He had a little muscle on his bones and his skin was now a little darker. Elinor had gotten him glasses that weren't too big for his face, but fit him just right. They were thin frames, dark grey, but not too old-man styled..."I haven't left you," he commented softly. "and I love you." He looked down to the ground as though he was standing in a King's courtroom.

"Ah, so now we're back to square one." Elinor said with a sigh as she leaned back in her chair. "Do you love me or not?" Elinor's normal commen sense was still clouded by whatever it was that was making her ask these questions, so she wasn't embarrased in the least.

Darius fiddled with his fingers, trying to find an excuse from directly answering the question. She was on the short end of the table, and he was beside her on her right on the longer end. Why was he taking so long to answer a stupid question? And why was he embarrased by it so much? It wasn't like she was a total stranger who had walked up to him and shouted, "I LOVE YOU!!!!" So that everybody heard. She could do that whenever she felt like it when they were shopping, but they hardly ever went together. Had Darius purposely done that so as...?

"Darius, is what I'm asking making you feel embarrased?" Some of her commen sense had begun to return. Darius looked up to her like a chastised child who had been told to look their parents in the eyes. He nodded. "But--"

Darius stopped her by taking her hands in his and looking at her intently as he spoke. "You're a good woman Elinor," _Oh no, _Elinor thought. _Here comes rejection. _"and it's not right for people to be leaving you they way they are. That's why I'm still here. Don't you get it? I have no reason to be here, execpt for you. And also, where would I go? I've no family left, just like you. We're two of a kind, and it pays to stick together. Don't you see?"

No, Elinor did not see. She numbly shook her head. Darius leaned in closer to Elinor, and she found herself doing the same. Before she knew what was going on, she had closed her eyes and felt Darius' lips on hers. They were soft, yet strong. Like her Mother...Elinor found relief in them. Those lips that brought things to live had brought something back to life inside her. What was it? Love. Yes, that was it. The thing that she felt with Darius was love and nothing else. And it had taken him to bring it back.

The two of them backed off one another after a moment. Elinor opened her eyes to find that Darius had already gone back to cooking. "Darius..." she began. But Darius would not hear her. He sent her out of the kitchen, so Elinor glumly went back up to her library where she would think.

* * *

**A/n **

**And there's my first chapter! Wonderful, isn't it? ;) Next chapter coming soon. **


	2. Meggie

**Chapter 2**

Roxane had brought Dustfinger's body somewhere and buried it. She hadn't told anyone where Dustfinger's grave was yet, but Meggie knew sooner or later she'd tell someone. And as soon as she did the news would travel like plague. Farid had done everything he could to convince Roxane otherwise, but seeing as she loated him more then anything else in her world, she wasn't about to give in to him. Fraid was frantic as he watched her leave, and although Meggie desperately wanted to soothe him, she didn't know what to say. Besides, whenever she tried soothing him, she usually made it worse. So she simply kept her voice to herself. Farid still hated Roxane with every fiber of his being - he didn't even _try _to hide it. Meggie couldn't help but smile when the two of them exchanged glances. The hate between them was so strong she somehow found it funny. She couldn't explain it.

The seven of them - Mo, Farid, Fenoglio, Resa, Orpheus, Fenoglio and Meggie herself - had walked back to Ombra. The journey hadn't taken long - a mere three days. And since Orpheus was so keen on seeing everything there was to the Wayless Wood, they were stalled longer. Farid had tried to get them all to move faster, but Orpheus wouldn't hear of it. He was going to see as much as he wanted or he wouldn't bring Dustfinger back. With an angry grunt, Farid had succumed and stopped trying to get everyone to go faster. He hadn't said why he wanted to get to Ombra as soon as possible, but Meggie knew. He wanted to get there before Roxane so he could follow her and find the location of Dustfinger's grave. He probably would've been able to do so if it had not been for Orpheus. Even the old man Fenoglio had no problem keeping up with everyone else. He was very capeable for an old man.

The seven of them had found a place to live. Fenoglio had gone back to Minerva, and everyone else stuck together on edge of the Wayless Wood. They stayed with the strolling players - with the Black Prince. Meggie could see Farid didn't like being with such a big group of people, but what else could they do? Besides, there were safety in numbers. But Farid hadn't seemed to take this into consideration. He preferred being with one or two other people - when he had been just with Dustfinger and Meggie herself, and she knew that. She preferred not to have such a big group of people as well, but there was really nothing they could do. Where else could they go, anyway?

Farid and Meggie had gone off on a walk, and had found a medium-sized stream. The water was cool and refreshing against the hot summer heat, but neither of them went in. They only sat down on its bank and stuck their feet into it, watching as it rushed by their feet. Meggie lloked over to Farid and studied him for a moment. His dark hair was wet with perspiration, as was his forhead. He wasn't sweating too much, but just right. He wraped his arms around his knees, set his head on his arms, and stared into the water. Meggie herself was supporting her body with her hands, like on the beach. She was leaning back, depending on the streangth of her arms to hold her up.

Why did Meggie see Farid as a different person now? Was it because he was supposed to be dead and Dustfinger was still supposed to be alive, or was it only because they were together now? So many thoughts like this were running through her head, she didn't know exactly what to think. Did she really love Farid, or did he do all the work? After all, he had kissed her first - and every time they had kissed. She never kissed him back, so did that really mean she loved him? There were so many questions running through her head it began to swim.

Suddenly, Meggie remembered Elinor and Darius on Earth. What were they thinking, and how long had it been? Meggie hadn't been keeping track of time, so all the days just seemed to mold into one another. And also, did time go by differently here? Meggie couldn't be sure, seeing as this story was supposed to take place in some sort of Middle Ages, so they had no real technology like Earth. She vaguley wondered if Elinor was steeming mad with her, Resa, and Mo by now, for leaving her there on Earth.

Meggie found she was thinking more deeply then she wanted, for when Farid said something she didn't hear him. She did the second time, however. "Why are you so silent?" He asked her. "And why are you staring at me?"

Meggie blinked, gently shook her head to clear her thoughts. She answered him with another question. "Do you see me differently, Farid?"

Farid studied her for a moment, as if to be sure she had asked what he thought she did. Then he fell silent for a moment before answering her. "What do you mean?"

"Well, Dustfinger brought you back from the dead, and it seems as if you never died, but Dustfinger did." - Here Farid flinched at the memories - "And for some reason you seem like a different person when I look at you."

Farid was silent for a moment, thinking over her words. He shook his head. "No, you don't seem different to me."

Meggie sighed, looked into her own reflection in the stream. She didn't look like the same girl she had seen the last time she looked in one of Elinor's mirrors. Had it been that long that she had changed so much she barely recognised herself anymore? Or was it simply because she hadn't seen her own reflection that long? Meggie studied her reflection a little longer. Her hair was matted and messy and she had dirt all over her face. How could she go this long without people telling her something? Meggie started using her fingers to comb through her hair and using the water of the stream to wach her face. She looked as though she had gotten out of bed and rolled around in the dirt! Didn't people think poorly of her looking that way? And why on earth hadn't Farid said anything?!!

Beside her, she heard Farid give a small chuckle at her reaction to the way she looked. "Women and their appearences..."

Meggie looked over to him, astonished. "Farid! Why didn't you tell me I looked so bad?"

Farid shrugged. "You didn't ask."

Meggie playfully punched his arm. "I look like a friggin' hobo!"

"You don't look like a hobo," he replied gently, helping her. "I think you're always beautiful." To this she blushed, looked away. Farid gently went through her hair, sorting out the knots and cutting out the mats. "Where I came from," He began, "everyone looked like this, so I didn't think you'd hate it. So I didn't say anything." Meggie now understood him.

"But why didn't anyone else say anything?"

"Who has the time or money look after their appearence? All they're worried about is living another day. This isn't Earth, Meggie." Meggie fell silent. It felt odd when Farid called her by her name, why she didn't know. It was like when she called Mo Dad. It was just one of those things she wasn't used to.

Meggie engoyed the thought of Farid going through her hair, fixing it to look better. She watched their reflections in the stream, but she was more looking at Farid. He looked _very _nice...Did he really love her? The question came back to her like a boomerang. She couldn't get her mind off it. The question kept eating at her, and she needed to answer it. It was her way of things, a rather bad habbit. After a long moment of just thinking and watching Farid go through her hair, Meggie burst out, "Farid, do you love me?"

At first, Farid didn't know what to say. _Why not? _Meggie asked herself. _There's nothing wrong with that question, right? _For a moment he was silent, still going through her hair, then replied, "Why are you asking?"

"Just wondering," She looked at him through the reflection.

"Of course I love you. I would never have kissed you if I didn't love you." What he said was true, and Meggie hadn't thought of it. She nodded gentley, wondering why she hadn't thought of that before. He had saved her from danger - probably danger that could've brought death - and he put her on the top of his priorities.

Meggie began cleaning off her face and saw just how dirty it really was. She frowned and scrubbed her face as hard as she could - she hated it looking as if she hadn't washed it in years. After a while, she started seeing her actual self beneath all the dirt and grime. She started to look more and more familiar again until she was her old self again. Then it _couldn't _have been more then a year ago when Dustfinger had died.

She hated thinking about it, Dustfinger's death. He had sacrificed himself for Farid, yes, but that was probably why she looked at him so differently now. Because Dustfinger would never give his life for anyone but Farid, maybe not even Roxane. For someone like Dustfinger to do that was a huge blessing, but Farid seemed not to care about this. All he cared about was bringing Dustfinger back, avenging him. But was it possible? Oh, of course it was. All they had to do was get Orpheus to write a small script where Dustfinger somehow comes back to live, and then either he, Meggie, or Mo could read from it and bring Dustfinger back. But could they actually bring back the dead? Fenoglio hadn't been able to do it himself. But, then again, he hadn't really tried. But even with the ability to read beings from books, the idea seemed impossible. But Meggie shared none of this with Farid. He'd only get angry.

Farid stopped and looked at Meggie in the stream. "You're truly beautiful." He whispered in her ear, smiling. She smiled back, pushed the hair behind her ear on her right side. Having someone she wasn't related to tell her she was beautiful was an odd new experiance, but she liked it. It gave her a good feeling of being wanted, not just wanting. And although she enjoyed Farid telling her she was beautiful, she still found herself blushing when he did. But either way, she couldn't help but love it.

Meggie sat upright, Farid adjusted with her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, he bent down and kissed her cheek. The two of them giggled, thinking over their still young relationship. She liked Farid's company and could tell he liked hers as well. It was as though they were meant for each other, as though Mo had known all along to read him out of the _Tales of a Thousand and One Nights. _She felt right with Farid, as if he was all she needed in life. She was complete with him.

Meggie sighed, moved her arms from around Farid's neck. He backed off as well, went back to sitting beside her. All fell silent between the two of them for a long time.

* * *

**A/n**

**I know that's a sudden end but I couldn't think of anything else, and it's late and I have to go to bed for school. (Damn school!) Well, I need opinions and feedback here, so please do review! **


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